California law would fast-track residential solar panel installations

Installing solar panels in California will get a lot less complicated if the state Senate votes to pass a bill to speed up the permitting process that can often drag on for months.

Assembly Bill 2188, drafted by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, would force cities to process permits for small, residential solar installations within five business days. It also would reduce the review process to just one inspection after the installation is complete.

The state Assembly voted 58-8 to approve the proposed legislation in May. Backers say they expect the bill to pass in the Senate as well.

Under the current system, each city and county has its own permit application process for solar panel installation. In some jurisdictions, permission is granted over the counter. In others, solar applications can take up to two months to approve and sites may require multiple inspections by city building and fire departments.

Navigating the idiosyncrasies of hundreds of unique applications is a logistical nightmare for solar companies, industry executives say.

"It's kind of like we're doing business in 500 different countries all at the same time," said Ken Button, who heads Torrance-based Verengo Solar, the largest installation company in Southern California.

Button, who has been lobbying for permit standardization for six years, brought the issue to Muratsuchi's attention.

Verengo Solar employs 1,000 workers in four states and has a team of about 75 people that works exclusively on processing permits. Button said it takes on average three weeks to apply for a permit, install the solar modules and get the final project inspected. The actual installation takes one day.

Residential solar panels have become so standardized over the past decade that some cities and counties use a simple checklist to review applications and turn them around in less then an hour. Supporters of AB 2188 want all jurisdictions to adopt such a policy.

"It's the exact same system that we are installing from San Francisco to San Diego," said Bernadette del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association. "Some of these installations are complicated and need extra scrutiny, but the vast majority are cookie-cutter. They should get swift approval."

The League of California Cities, which bristles at any legislation that would impose restrictions on local government, has come out against the bill, saying it unfairly sends solar panels to the front of the line.

"Is it fair to catapult a homeowner who can afford an expensive solar system before other residents seeking home inspections? Are the needs of a homeowner adding solar to their home more urgent than a homeowner with a broken water heater?" the league wrote in an op-ed for the Los Angeles News Group.

Residential solar systems cost $20,000 to $30,000, but many solar companies offer financing with no up-front costs and monthly payments that are offset by lower electricity bills.

Barry Cinnamon, who runs a solar installation company in Silicon Valley, spoke in favor of AB 2188 during a state Assembly hearing in April.

"One of the most expensive things for an installer is every single little town and big city has different rules for solar," Cinnamon said in an interview. "It makes it very difficult to be cost effective and it also makes it difficult to scale up a business."

Cinnamon said San Jose will grant a permit faster than it takes him to drive round-trip to the city's building department. In neighboring Fremont, the same process takes about a month. The delay means he will charge about $2,000 more to do a job in Fremont than he would in San Jose.

"It's bad customer service, but there's nothing we can do about it," Cinnamon said.

A common complaint of solar customers is the time it takes for modules to be installed, according to Paula Mints, chief analyst at SPV Market Research.

"It's really crucial that we get our act together as an industry," Mints said. "Anything that simplifies, speeds up and streamlines the process is good, but it's not enough to do it in California. We need it in 49 more states."

Same-day permit approval is "a big challenge" in South Bay beach cities because high densities and small roofs means solar panels can limit firefighter access, said Sal Kaddorah, a building official for Manhattan Beach, which requires inspections from both the fire and building departments.

Good solar installation companies know what the city is looking for and usually submit applications that are near perfect, Kaddorah said, which speeds up the process. But for small cities like Manhattan Beach, staffing is an issue.

"It's challenging, but it's doable," he said.

AB 2188 would only allow for one inspection after the permit has been issued and the project has been completed, which means cities like Manhattan Beach would have to stop sending the Fire Department to inspect solar projects.

Capt. Steve Deuel, training coordinator at the Torrance Fire Department, said he has no problem with streamlining the administrative process for obtaining a solar permit so long as safety isn't compromised.

The bigger issue from the firefighters' perspective is not the permitting process, Deuel said, but the solar panels themselves.

Studies have shown that solar panels expose firefighters to a risk of electric shock and that damaged modules can cause electrical fires.

Solar panels also get in the way. Building departments require a minimum amount of roof space be left around solar units for firefighter access, but sometimes that's not enough.

If a house fire is too hot, firefighters often poke holes in the roof to let air escape and allow them to enter the building. Solar panels act like "a second roof," Deuel said, which can prevent firefighters from ventilating the fire.

"It's a Catch-22," Deuel said. "We all want to save money and be ecologically responsible. On the other hand, at the cost of what? The safety of our firefighters? That's a hard pill for me to swallow."